antiques

Save Money Up-Cycle Chairs with Found Fabric.

Posted on April 21, 2020 by jolynnpowers

Tom and I have a thing for old chairs. I’m not sure, every couple finds themselves at furniture stores, yard sales and antique shops discussing how beautiful a chair is, but we do.

So often times I find old chairs that need a little love and update them. Not that we need another chair, but I just can’t walk away from them. I love well-made chairs or rocking chairs. The first one in the photos below was set out for the trash. It was a small desk chair that was in perfect shape except for needing paint and an updated seat. The other is an accent chair that is made with a spring seat. The chair had been recovered once in the 1980s (my best guess) by the fabric style. A cat had done real damage to the fabric and it was stained and dirty. The arms and legs were in perfect shape and the springs were good.

Over in the last few years, I have learned some tricks that helped me save a ton of money doing recovering the chair myself. I really enjoy making these chairs look updated and ready to use again.

Desk chair needing paint and a new seat

arm chair with cat damage

The largest amount of money was saved by finding the fabric used. Yea, you can find lots of nice large pieces of fabric at thrift stores or yard sales that were once used for curtains or bedspreads. The fabric I used on these two chairs was a twin bed duvet cover. I was able to use just the front panel of fabric and saved the back for another project. I purchased the Duvet at the local Goodwill for 4 dollars including tax. I think we ended up with 4 1/2 yards of fabric on each the front and back so a total of 9 yards of fabric for 4 dollars. Over a hundred dollar savings compared to regular new fabric prices.

SUPPLIES NEEDED TO RECOVER A LIVING ROOM CHAIR or SEAT COVER :

Staple Gun and a large pack of staples

Low loft quilt batting

Spray glue

Bottle of clear fabric glue

4 Yards of fabric or more

A flat tip screwdriver usually

50 or more furniture decorative tacks

Foam for a cushion of desk chair

Before pulling the chair apart I took the fabric and fitted it to the chair so I could see the pattern. I then measured the back and made sure I would have enough fabric to also cover the back.

test fitting old fabric to the chair.

I only removed the back panel of the chair and saved the gimp cord around the panel. I wanted to make it look like I had recorded the chair. I then covered the front sides and back with quilt batting using a spray-on glue from Elmers. I sprayed the glue onto the fabric waited 5 minutes until tacky and then unrolled the batting on to the seat and back trimming anything that got too thick and bunched. I then sprayed the back panel and did the same thing trimming inside the gimp cord. This very thin layer of batting smooths the finish of the material if there are lose spots. It also covers any dark material or patterns. So when I cover the chair the blue dots will not show through.

I also sprayed the glue on the back panel and added the batting. Once everything is dry it is time to stretch the material over the seat of the chair. Starting at the front lip of the seat frame I line the pattern up how I want it and staple the material to the wood frame Pulling the new material up and over the seat. Stopping to staple the material to the back frame after tucking it into the space between the seat and back. Then slowly I mark where the leg goes with an ink pen. A small slit at the front leg location in the material. measuring how high the armrest comes up from the bottom of the frame to the place it comes out. Then I make a slit in the material just as long as the base of the armrest. Then slowly I pull the fabric around the armrest and down into the fold around the base of the armrest until it sits nicely and hides any loose edges. Then I staple the fabric onto the frame doing the same on each side. I go from one side to the other pulling the fabric so that it is stretched tight over the seat. I fold the extra material back at the corners and tuck under and staple to the frame. Then I do the same for the back of the chair but leaving some extra fabric in the large fold between seat and back for adjustment when someone sits. I staple the material on the sides and finally arrive at the top part of the wooden frame with no loose material.

Then I spray the back panel covering the gimp with glue also. I place the fabric centered over the panel with 2 inches of extra material around the edge. I smooth the fabric over the glue and let it rest on the kitchen table for about 10 minutes. Then flip the panel over I spray glue on the back of the gimp and some on the back of the old fabric. At each corner, I split the material about 1 inch and then fold the fabric together to make a smooth corner and add a touch of fabric glue ( the thicker clear glue is a squeeze tube) to hold in place. I let dry overnight.

At this point the all the glue is dry and the seat, sides, and seatback are covered with the new fabric. The back panel is ready to be put back in place with decorative tacks.

The back panel installed with decorative tacks below the gimp cord

I start with the top center tack while the chair is laying forward on its arms. I then smooth out the top and tack the corners pulling them tight just before I set the tack. I work my way down to the bottom and pull those corners down and tight and set those tacks next. I then just follow the gimp cord and try to place my tacks as close to the gimp cord as possible and finish the back panel.

To finish up the chair I go around the small cuts I made to the front and back of each armrest and glue anything that needs tucked in or smoothed out from my cutting.

The chair looks pretty good! I am super happy that I did not take apart the chair or remove any wooden pieces. It is not perfect and I do have a small tear around one of the arm bases but the glue keeps it looking pretty nice.

The other chair we picked up out of the trash is now a desk chair for my son.

All I did for this little chair was to remove the seat, sanded and spray painted the body a flat black. I added a new foam cushion to the seat that I attached with spray glue. I cut the foam just a little bit smaller than the wood seat. I placed the new foam covered seat on the fabric and made sure the fabric reached the wooden back without pulling the fabric tight. I made sure to have about an inch or two of extra fabric to staple to the wood back. Then I stretch the material lightly over the seat, flip it over and staple the fabric to the back. I go back and forth with the staples to make sure the stretch is even. If you pull too hard the foam will dimple down and you will have to go back and pull out that staple and reset it. I had to reset two staples from pulling everything to tight but was happy with the results. Then I screw the seat back into the chair. You may have to trim fabric from the cushioned seat to get it out of the way of the screws and now you have two chairs that are looking great again.

My total cost for these to chairs to be recovered and painted:

free desk chair 0.00

armchair 18.00

foam for cushion 12.00

low loft quilt batting 6.00

Fabric 4.00

decorative furniture tacks 5.00

spray paint 4.00

small spray glue 4.00

small bottle fabric glue 3.00

sanding block 4.00

Total price for chairs and recovering $60.00

This could be less if you have any of these supplies on hand. I only bought the chair, fabric, tacks, low loft quilt batting and fabric glue. I had all the other supplies on hand from other projects.

In comparison, total savings are around 260 dollars.

This accent chair was 225.00

and this desk chair is 95.00

Categories: antique, antiques, chairs, DIY projects, furniture, save money, Thrift store finds, Trash to treasure, Uncategorized, up-cycling, upholstery | Tags: Anitques, chair, DIY projects, hands on, recycling, save money, Trash to treasure, upcycle, used furniture | 2 Comments

The Clean Up and Events at Golden Rule; Or This Mountain MaMa is Tired.

Posted on April 17, 2019 by jolynnpowers

I have been working so hard to finish cleaning and sorting the 4 floors of Golden Rule that I really thought about changing the name of my blog title to…. “This Mountain Mama is Tired.” Then leave some lame message about not having time to write. It would have been the truth. I am just beyond tired when I get home at night. I walk an average of 5 to 6 miles a day inside the building and that does not included the walking I do daily with my dog. So with 6 or 7 miles a day and the 3 sets of stairs in the building and the loads of trash and boxes I move every day. I just have not had the energy to stay up late or get up early to write. So please forgive me for not sharing more of the wonderful things I usually like to share.

So today I want to share just a few photos of what my life has been like since starting my work at the Golden. It is a labor of love to be the main person to clean, sort and help with Demo in a 18,000 foot building.

The 1902 Golden Rule Building 122 Crim Ave. Belington, WV my home away from home.

The building was abandoned after is was sold in the late 1980’s and it was never cleaned out. The building contained new old stock and office equipment from as far back as the 1920’s. My job has been to tackle the clean up of 100 years worth of history, trash and some how put together a couple of events to raise some money for the rehabilitation.

So far we have removed 8,000 pounds of house hold trash and a 30 yard dumpster of ceiling tiles, paneling and dry wall. It has taken a full year to reach the point that all three main floors are mostly clean and have a silent auction planned for the items that I was able to salvage. I have logged around 980 individual items that we hope to have for sale the first couple of weeks in May. It has been some of the hardest work I have done in my life, but the most rewarding also.

logan and Patrick AmeriCorps members volunteer to toss out 4,000 pounds of trash

Patrick and Logan AmeriCorps volunteers help remove 2000 pounds of trash from the Golden Rule 2018.

What we have found along the way is a treasure trove of history and stories from the past. Some of the questions we have about the building are solved, while others are still a mystery. I have done interviews with the former owner and several people who worked in the building that have helped put together a impression of what the building meant to the community and to those who worked here. One day I hope to put all this together in a book about the buildings story.

head line about about Jack Ruby

Early electric cash register

shaving lotion bottles from the 1960’s

carbide light miners fule can

oil cans found in the Golden Rule

Silvertone record

Vintage linoleum rug 13X11

can of Mary Jane found in the Golden Rule

GEDSC DIGITAL CAMERA

We are now ready to start the process of moving the history out of the building into storage and selling off what is left. We have plans for a ticket entry, benefit silent auction that will happen in just a few weeks, fallowed by community wide building sale. This should clean out most of the items that are remaining in the building. With lots of volunteers helping me over the course of the last year. I think the events will be a huge success.

The Golden Rule will soon be full of new people and construction materials, it will be full of busy saws and heavy foot steps and I will be regulated to watching most of it. I still have cleaning to do and a yard to tame so my work in not over but I will be more of an outsider for the next couple of years. I am excited for the work to begin in June and can only imagine what I will be doing over the next year.

Recycled sign for the Golden Rule Feeds and Fertilizers found in mill building.

The project will start on the top floors of the building and work its way down. A new roof and 10 apartments will happen first and the final steps will be the retail spaces on the first floor. It is planned with a railroad depot in the back to connect passengers to the tourist trains in Elkins, West Virginia. A gift shop for the passengers, a Artist Market, a coffee shop and a viewing platform of the water powered elevator. We are hoping that some of the wonderful pieces we have found in the building will hang on the walls and be used as decor in the coffee shop and artist market one day.

Three-four years seem so far away from now, but I think it will pass in a blink of an eye. I know that one day not far off I will be wondering how it all got finished and open to the public.

Categories: antiques, Belington, WV, Benefit auction, Change, Golden Rule, historic locations, Historic Preservation, recycling, Vintage items, West Virginia, Woodlands Development Group | Tags: antique, Belington West Virginia, Golden Rule, Historic Preservation, history, Redevelopment, Silent Auction, Vintage items, West Virginia, Woodlands Development Group | 6 Comments

JoLynn Powers AmeriCorps, Returns 1920’s Christmas Cards to Local Resident.

Posted on January 15, 2019 by jolynnpowers

1902 Golden Rule Department store at beginning of redevelopment 2018.

When redevelopment on the Golden Rule Department and Furniture store began, no one knew what was hiding in the 1902 building. Woodlands Development Group bought the Belington, West Virginia building in spring of 2018.The plan for redevelopment included 10 apartments with a lower level retail space. Never knowing that the building was a time capsule of Wanda Shinn Mitchell’s life. With help from a local Appalachian Forest Heritage Area AmeriCorps, JoLynn Powers, the nonprofit is preserving the past and returning it to a local family.

Wanda Shinn Mitchell former owner of the Golden Rule Building age 93, 2018.

When redevelopment began at the Golden Rule the three upper floors over flowed with remnants of the stores past. Empty boot boxes and signage from past decades filled the walls and shelves. “It was like walking into a time capsule. 1970’s shoe boxes filled shelves on the first floor and 1920’s office equipment covered a table on the second floor, nothing had really changed,” said JoLynn Powers AmeriCorps service member responsible for cleaning the building. While working to remove the debris from the building JoLynn Powers discovered that personal and work related items from the first owner’s family were still in the building.

Table on Second Floor of the Golden Rule with antique office equipment.

Boot boxes line shelves at the Golden Rule.

When Christmas post cards post marked 1922 address to Luther Shinn and his wife Ida, (builder of the Golden Rule building and father-in-law to Wanda) were discovered in a hole cut in the wall of the second floor storage room, everyone was excited by the find. However, Woodlands Development Director Dave Clark wanted to make sure the cards found their way back to the Shinn family. With the help from the Barbour County Development Authority, The Belington Revitalization Committee and the Belington Library, JoLynn Powers was able to reach out to Wanda Shinn Mitchell and return them to her. At 94 years old, Wanda was excited to see Luther P. Shinn’s name on the cards dating back to 1920’s and 1930’s. The collection of cards included post cards to a sister-in-law, blank cards and several photos of people.

Christmas Card sent to L.P. Shinn and his wife Ida, 1920’s.

Christmas card found in wall of Golden Rule Building circa 1920’s.

When the appointment was made to return the cards JoLynn Powers invited Terri Kettle, of the Belington Revitalization Committee and Freedom Bank, to join her to help record the oral history of the visit. During the visit Terri Kettle asked Mrs. Mitchell if she knew how the cards and photos got inside the wall of the building. Wanda replied, “She had no idea.” So the mystery of the hidden Christmas Cards continues.

Director of Woodlands Development Group, Dave Clark, is pleased to see the history of Belington preserved and shared with the community. As the buildings remaining assets are inventoried, there are plans for another open house with food, drinks, and a benefit silent auction planned for May of 2019. We hope to make the event a fundraiser for redevelopment costs for the retail space by selling tickets to attend. It is planned that the items not sold during the action will be sold on-line later in May so that everyone has a chance to support the Golden Rules rehabilitation.

JoLynn Powers AmeriCorps Volunteer in Elkins, WV.

JoLynn Powers continues to serve the Belington Community as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the next few months at the Golden Rule building. She leaves AmeriCorps with three years of community service to her home state of West Virginia. Future plans are to continue to work at the Golden Rule with Woodlands Development Group and to continue to work in the field of Community Development in the North Central Region of West Virginia.

Categories: About me, AmeriCorps, antiques, Appalachin Forrest Heritage Area, Barbour County, Belington, WV, Chris, Golden Rule, Uncategorized | Tags: about me, AmeriCorps, Belington West Virginia, Christmas Cards, Golden Rule, Wanda Shinn | 1 Comment

A Meaningful and Tired 2018. Year end photo gallery.

Posted on January 2, 2019 by jolynnpowers

Abandoned building in Philippi, West Virginia, former ball room.

Meaningful and tired are the words for my thoughts, feeling and photos for 2018. Over the year I was able to take beautiful photos, spend time with people I enjoy, do work that I find meaningful and I am still surprised at that. Being tired was my overall experience this year.I have never worked so hard at something I love so much in my life. Often I would work my 8 hours and walk 6 to 7 miles a day, up and down 3 flights of stairs. Then spend one day a week processing the items that I had carried down those same stairs. Some how,I kept my clothes washed, got my son to school and I walked another mile or two with my dog every day. I pushed hard on the weekends too, with updates to my house and trips with friends and family. I think, I finally collapsed into bed on the 21st of Dec. and just slept… I took a nap that afternoon that lasted 3 1/2 hours and then went to bed that night at 9:30 and slept 8 1/2 more.

So for fun I put together some of my more favorite photos from the year. 50 has been very eye-opening for me creatively. I have found “myself” as an artist and photographer and have finally found a subject matter that excites me!!As you will see, I have fallen head over heals in love with antiques and windows. I never realized how much I love the glow of light through a window and how that light fascinates me. Someone once said that we are always taking the same photograph over and over subconsciously until we discover what we love. Then we can focus on that subject and make a world out of it. Well the world opened up for me in 2018.

So I hope you enjoy my photos from the last year and I hope to do better next year with reaching my goals.

Clock at the Barbour County Court House

Court Room of the Grand Jury of Barbour County

Stained glass in ceiling of the Barbour County Court House

My first few days at the new AmeriCorps location at the Barbour County Development Authority. It was at this court house that I realized my future was working with the history of this community and it’s treasures.

main floor of the Golden Rule mess t 1st Day

Third floor wall and mess 1 st day

large collection of dirty doors 1st day at the Golden Rule

The following week was an over view of the project that I am still working on today. The Golden Rule building was purchased in April of 2018 and I was brought on board to help clean up the mess and help preserve and liquidate all the assets in the building. Needless to say I am still working on cleaning up the mess but some of the photos I have taken inside the building are priceless.

Adaland

Buffy table in dinning room of Adaland

bathroom window at Adaland

In June my office was invited to a luncheon at the Adaland Mansion ( circa 1841) where we explored and toured the grounds of the historic home in Barbour County. The food was traditional to the late 1800 to 1900’s and everyone dressed in time period costumes. It was a great break from the dirt and dust of the Golden Rule.

adding mechines and typewriter at the Golden Rule

Adding Machines, type writers and cash registers stored one at hardwood table

Basement full of bottles and plates

Broken Boy with Grape basket lamp by window.

Spoiled canned fish from the 70’s?

As the Summer wore on I found items that were strange, beautiful and unusual in the Golden Rule. My work was labor intensive, being the main person moving 7,000 pounds of garbage into bags and boxes day after day wore me out. But, the pay off was seeing, photographing and sometimes saving pieces of the past that would other wise be lost if the building had belonged to someone other than Woodlands Development Group.

Frog on moss covered stone Cranberry Wilderness WV

Bickels knob observitory Elkins WV

Allegheny trail head bridge Harmon WV

Finally in July we took a few days off to rest and spend time with the family. We fished, hiked and spent afternoons swimming in the river just enjoying a holiday weekend.

the Powers Men fishing off of Laural Fork river near Rich mountain

As summer came to a close it was announced that my home office would be moving and we were able to tour the new location for Woodlands Development Group in Elkins WV.

Door at the new Woodlands Development group office in Elkins WV

door to no where at the new Woodlands Development Group office

Wild Mountain Laurel Elkins WV

In Oct. we watched the West Virginia episode of “State Plate” with Taylor Hicks. I wondered how Tom and I ever survived cooking and eating on national TV. We both enjoyed seeing what they made out of day together.

Jolynn Powers and Taylor Hicks cooking in the kitchen.

Baked Apple Dumplings fresh out of the oven.

Then the Open House at the Golden Rule was an overwhelming success. We had over 100 visitors and gave tours to over 65 people in 4 hours. We raised over 300 dollars to help the preservation and rehabilitation of the building and I must have made 14 trips up and down those stairs again. I was really tired when it was over but it was worth all the work to put it together to see people enjoying my work!

Golden Rule Building 1902, Belington,West Virginia with window murals

Golden Rule sign

Vacation time came and I celebrated my 50th birthday in the best way. I went back in time and relived the joy and happiness of my youth at Hershey Park, PA. Riding roller-coasters and eating Hershey’s chocolate was so much fun and I got to see several old friends that I love dearly. Could not have planned something better if I tried.

Alex Christopher and tom at Hershey park

Alex Smits, Christopher Powers and Tom Powers having fun at my birthday trip to Hershey Park, PA.

Hershey Tower drop

Halloween is my favorite time of the year and this year I explored two ideas for my haunted house costume. The first was the idea of making myself into some kind of moth-man or fly-man and the other was the evil crow. In the end the mask and wings of a bird won out and I spent a great night at Christopher’s after-school program volunteering to scaring the heck out of young and old a like. I then went with the kids Trick or Treating as the scary crow and had a ball… the best few weeks of my year!

Halloween Costume #1 for 2018

halloween costume 2018

The Holidays were a blur, I remember that we had a nice couple of holiday dinners and I got to spend lots of time with my family and friends. I got to see Christopher sing at his choir concert and watched three movies at the theater in 9 days…. so much fun!

Christopher Powers in Santa hat age 10

Govenor’s Inn Main Street Buckhannon, WV

So it was a busy year and I learned tons about myself and what I want to do as an artist in the future. I think my photos are getting better and I realized that I do much better with natural light and I am not great at photographing people. I hope to work on that this year. So the goal is set to take at least 6 natural light portraits this year. We will see if I can reach that goal while painting another couple of murals.

Hope your holiday was a good one and I hope you have a productive 2019. Maybe it will slow down just a bit for me in 2019. I can only hope to do more traveling and spending more time with friends and family and continue to grow as an artist. BCDA MURAL 2018

Categories: About me, antiques, Art, Christmas, Golden Rule, New Years Eve, photo review, Photos, Travel, Uncategorized | Tags: about me, Anitques, Christmas, Golden Rule, New Year resolution, New Years Eve | 2 Comments

Trash to Treasure DYI: Waterslide Decal commemorative Plates

Posted on August 13, 2018 by jolynnpowers

Summer has been busy and my work on the rehabilitation of the Golden Rule Building is really fun and taking up lots of my time. One reason is that we are trying to prepare for a public open house of the project. If you want to know more about this 1902 building and what we are planning to do to save it, check out my first post about the Golden Rule.

So as part of the reason for the open house is to let the community see the building, take tours, get information about the project and get a chance to see some of the wonderful items we will be selling at a public sale this fall. As part of the Fall Festival Open House we are going to offer for sale a few small items that came from the building that are unique but not real expensive. One of the items will be a commemorative plate that another AmeriCorps member and I designed and made from some of the chipped and crazed dishware that had been left in the building.

The idea came to me as I took my first tour of the building. I realized that their were around 60 or more white and tan dishes in the basement of the building that were just wasting away due to cracks, chips, crazing or staining. I thought it was so sad to just toss all of them into the dumpster even if they were just generic white dishes. So I spent some time on-line and came up with a plan if a friend AmeriCorps was willing to help me. I asked my friend Reid Saunders to do a drawing of the building that I could used for a collectors plate image.Together we could create a very inexpensive souvenir for the up coming events that could be a fundraiser item for the building.

drawing done by Reid Saunders 2018 of the Golden Rule Cir 1902

I then took the dishes that I found in the basement and washed and sorted them. We chose to use all the large platters and about a dozen salad and dessert size plates for the project. I then took the image and adjusted the contrast and color so the image would print more clearly on to a waterslide decal and added the text.

Abandoned white plates found in the basement of the Golden Rule

Blue image ready to print.

The image is printed on to clear decal paper that I ordered off Amazon. I bought from two different companies and found that I liked the thinner decals better for this project but either seemed to work fine and in the same manner. Also there are two different kinds of paper and two ways to process them depending on your printer. I happen to have two different Laser printers at work so I bought the paper that works for those. I think either printer is good for the decals but I do believe that you have to seal the decals with clear spray sealer if you are using an ink jet printer. In the case of a laser printer, all you have to do to finish the decals in a low heat oven at 200 degrees for about 20 to make them water-resistant.

Once they are printed, I cut them to a workable size. You should soak the decals in slightly warm to the touch water. They release faster in warmer water but they also get stickier and more melted with hot water. Warm Water Only! It will take about 3 minutes to get a decal to release from its paper backing and begin to float. I soaked mine in a very shallow paper plate for about 2.5 minutes, while the decal is soaking I rise my plate in a water bath and drain all the extra water off. Their will be enough water trapped on the plate to move the decal around until you are happy with the placement of the decal. Once the paper is free from the decal, remove it and allow the decal to float free. I place a finger or thumb on the edge of my decal and drain some of the excess water off the area and then pour the decal and remaining water onto the platter. Usually the decal stays on top of the water and rides right onto the surface where you want it to be located. Sometimes they get a fold or roll when poured onto a project, just wiggle the decal under the water and it will usually unfold itself. If the water is to hot it may melt together and stick. Then place the decal where you would like it, drain any excess water off the plate and squeegee out any remaining water from under the decal and let dry. Then bake in an oven to finish the platter. I bought my sqeegee off line from a Car Wrap supplier. I loved it and found it very useful I would recomend the felt covered type so you do not scratch your image.

The next step is to bake the decal to the plate. If you are baking several plates at a time watch them closely. It is possible to singe the decals if they get to hot. Out of 40 plates I had one turn a golden brown around the edges, I knew something was up when I began to smell burning plastic.

When the plates are done cooling they are now water-resistant and can be hand washed in warm water without the decal sliding back off the plate. DO NOT PUT IN DISHWASHER! These are now one of a kind hand-made commemorative plates.

Each sheet of decal paper is about .90 cents. So over all we did pretty good on the production cost for the project. The plates were free from the building and each sheet was printed with two images of the building so each plate cost about .45 cents to make plus my time.

Over all this was a fun and creative way to make something out of what would normally be tossed out. The prices on the plates will range from 20 to 60 dollars each. Hopefully the public likes them and we sell out during our events. Wish me luck on raising a few hundred dollars for the buildings rehabilitation.

Golden Rule Platter for sale at the Fall Festival Open House Sept 15th

Categories: antiques, Barbour County, Collector Plates, DIY projects, Drawing, Fairs and Festivals, Fall Festival, Golden Rule, Uncategorized | Tags: antiques, collector plates, drawing, DYI project, Fund raising, Golden Rule | Leave a comment

Part # 1 The Rehabilitation of the Golden Rule Building, Belington W.V. Begin’s.

Posted on April 11, 2018 by jolynnpowers

In the small town of Belington, West Virginia stands a 116 year old building that is reminiscent of West Virginia’s heyday of coal and the money it once brought to Barbour County. The Golden Rule building owned by the Shinn family was built to serve the local community as a grocery store and later a furniture store. 70 years later with the closer of several coal mines, decline of the population and the loss of jobs, the 3 story building fell on hard times just like the community where it stands. Left to decay and become an abandoned storage building the Golden Rule’s future was questionable. In 2014 the historic building, having one of the only water powered elevators in North America, was listed as an endangered property by the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia. It took another 4 years for things to change for the future of the Golden Rule.

1902 Golden Rule Building Belington West Virginia

Golden Rule elevator gears Preservation aliance of WV

Water powered elevator pulles in basment of the Golden Rule. photo use with permission of the PAWV.

As the building name implies, The golden rule,“Do on to others as you wish them to do unto you” the Woodlands Development Group of Elkins, West Virginia is taking on the challenge of bringing the structure back from abandoned and returning it to usefulness. In March of 2018 the building officially changed ownership and the slow work of rehabilitation began. With use of historic tax credits, forgivable loans and grant money, the plan includes converting the upper two floors of the building to 10, one and two bedroom apartments with at retail space on the first floor. The ground-floor space will have the Durbin& Greenbrier Vally Railroad ticket booth, a small museum space and an artist market and coffee bar. The additional building on the property is planned to house a community space with a working kitchen and outdoor seating. Woodlands Development Group is working in partnership with the Belington Revitalization Committee and The Barbour County Development Authority to meet the needs of their community with quality housing and new jobs within the building itself.

messages and images similar to these will appear in the Golden Rules windows. These appeared in store front windows in White Sulphur Springs, W.V after their down town was flooded in 2016.

The first stages of change that community will see are the boards going into the window spaces in the upper levels of the building. The boards will be painted with brightly colored images and inspirational sayings to help residents visualize that positive change is happening. The other less obvious change is the clean-up of the interior of the building. Loads of trash and recyclable items have been left all though the building and must be removed before any serious construction can begin.

mixed recyclable items with trash and barrel inside the Golden Rule.

With some of the items left behind the partners hope to have a fundraiser for the rehabilitation of the building. I have been asked to help create Golden Rule commemorative plate with an image of the building on some of the stoneware plates you see below. What was once trash will be sold in commemoration of the building and its return to usefulness.

bottles and plates found in the basement of the Golden Rule. This plates will be decorated with a decal to commemorate the rehabilitation of the building

As often is the case, the previous owners of the Golden Rule have just walked away, leaving some else to clean up the mess. It will take months of AmeriCorps service hours to clean, sort, recycle or reuse the buildings contents but in some way it is all a sign of positive change for everyone involved.

Empty boxes line the shelves of the sales floor of the Golden Rule Building.

The project is expected to take around 3 to 4 years to complete with completion of the community building taking a little longer. Today I watched as AmeriCorps members removed the arched windows of the front of the building so that they could be repaired. It is just a small step towards the final goal of seeing this building being a vital part of the downtown of Belington, West Virginia once again.

Categories: AmeriCorps, antiques, Barbour County, Belington, WV, Building rehabilitation, Collector Plates, Golden Rule, historic locations, history, mythology, Time Capsule, Uncategorized, West Virginia History | Tags: antiques, Barbour County, Belington West Virginia, Building rehabilitation, Historic West Virginia locations, history, small town life, Time Capsule | 11 Comments

Something Old Becomes New Again: Victorian Style Lamp Repair.

Posted on June 23, 2017 by jolynnpowers

Shopping at Yard Sales and Flea Markets is something that Tom and I really enjoy doing in summer. So, when Tom found these two beautiful dismantled lamps tossed in a box at a yard sale, he had to have them. The price was reasonable at $8 dollars and it looked as if all the parts were in the box. I have never seen a set of lamps like them before and found them to be the perfect solution to life in West Virginia. Here the hills never know when you are going to have to live without power and for how long. Having the candles in the same place as the lamps makes life easier when you are looking for a secondary light source.

Antique lamps in need of some TLC

When we returned home with the box of parts I did a quick inventory of all the hanging crystals. I needed to see if they were all still in the box. I really did not want to go looking for 3 or 4 antique chandler crystals, if I could possible help it. I was in luck all of them were in the box all were in good shape and usable.

The pair of lamps were actually wired with a single plug-in cord so we knew that in all likely hood they were used on a dresser or on a antique vanity in the bedroom. The problem for us was that the cord was too short to go between our night stands to be used in the bedroom. We started a list and noted that we would need several feet of lamp wiring cord to separate the two lamps. A screw was missing from the base of one of the candle holders and very few of the crystals had their hanging wires left. We would need a little light weight wire, about 12 feet of cord, a screw and 2 new plugs to make the needed repairs. Now the cost of my $8 lamps would be about $30 dollars for the pair. I still think that price is reasonable for beautiful lamps like these.

Tom disassembled the lamps so he could rewire the sockets. The sockets were old like the lamps but not in need of replacement. Tom fed the old sockets and new 5 foot section of wire through the glass body of each lamp added a new plug to the end of the wires making the lamps individuals. He cleaned and polished all the glass of the lamps and reattached the candle holder and protective dish to the lamp that was missing them. Then the process of hanging the crystals was handed to me. I spent about two hours cutting uniform lengths of wire and hanging the crystals.

When we bought the lamps it appeared that the crystals had been hung on the lamps with wire nails. One end blunt and wide enough to not pass through the holes. The other end was a sharp point like a nail. I am guessing that this is not the usual way to hang crystals on light fixtures so I removed all the old rusty wire nails and started replacing them with short pieces of sliver wire. In the end I crimped the wires so the crystals would not have any way to fall off the lamp even if tipped over. They looked so nice once washed and put back in place where they belonged. Finally we could see what we had bought in the bottom of that old b

As you can see the end result is a lovely set of night stand lamps that fit the decor of the bedroom. I am often surprised at what we find on our trips to Flea Markets and Yard Sales, where something wonderful just needs someone to take the time to repair it. Toms nature is to see the potential in almost anything and I am so fortunate that he likes to bring wonderful things back to life.

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